When we reached the city, the crowded streets forced the carriage to slow significantly, and Prince Chevalier called for the coachman to stop.
“You are here as my personal attendant,” he said coolly. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, your highness.”
He stepped out of the carriage, and his chilling presence immediately cleared a path for us. I followed quietly, beside and a bit behind, hurrying to keep up with his long strides. The expressions of those around us were striking compared to the expressions of those same people when they looked at Prince Leon. Prince Chevalier inspired awe and an almost reverent fear with his inborn aristocratic bearing.
“Hey there!”
Prince Leon’s booming voice carried well, even over the hubbub of the massive crowd. He was also taller than most, so it wasn’t hard to pick his smiling face out. I smiled back at him as he pushed his way toward us. Prince Chevalier didn’t acknowledge him.
“I’m still working, P - Leon,” I said, realizing just in time that he was in disguise again.
“Will your boss let me buy you a drink?”
“I don’t tolerate drunkenness from my employees,” Prince Chevalier said without turning around.
“Apple cider it is,” Prince Leon announced, and then he disappeared back into the crowd.
Prince Chevalier said nothing but continued winding his way through the festival goers until we arrived at a stall selling rare books. My eyes lit up at the sight of all those beautiful tomes, the brightly colored bindings, the ornate lettering.
“You have most of these already, Prince Chevalier,” I said, running my fingers across the spines. “But I don’t think you have this one.”
He took the book I’d indicated and glanced at it. “You are correct. Shopkeeper.”
The shopkeeper was already trembling in Prince Chevalier’s presence, and he nearly fainted when Prince Chevalier addressed him. “Y-y-yes, your highness?”
“Are these all the books you have?”
“N-n-no, y-y-your highness,” the shopkeeper replied, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down nervously.
“Here’s another one, Prince Chevalier,” I said, pulling out another book. “And another. There’s a really good selection here.” I handed each book to Prince Chevalier without taking my eyes off of the titles I was still scanning. He continued questioning the shopkeeper about a particular book he was looking for while I kept up my search.
“There you are. One apple cider, coming up!” Prince Leon appeared beside me and shoved a mug into my hand.
“Thank you - Leon,” I said, catching myself again. I straightened up, taking a sip. “Mm, this is good. I think I’m done, Prince Chevalier.”
“Bundle these up,” he instructed the shopkeeper.
“Y-y-yes, of c-c-course,” the shopkeeper stammered, his fingers shaking as he stacked the books together. There were a dozen volumes, and it surprised me to find so many. Prince Chevalier’s collection was extraordinarily vast.
“You’re doing his shopping?” Prince Leon asked, his amber eyes searching mine.
“I’m here to work, Leon. Here, let me help you.” I reached out to steady the stack of books while the shopkeeper fumbled with some bits of twine.
“That won’t be necessary, my lady,” he said. The poor man had sweat beading on his forehead, and it wasn’t even that hot outside.
“It’s no trouble. Leon, could you take this?”
“Sure.” He took the mug from me so I could use both hands.
“Thank you so much for all your help. What was your name?” I asked the shopkeeper.
“Stefan Schiesler, my lady. Honored to be of assistance.” He chanced a smile at me. I returned it.
“Please, call me Ivetta. You have a wonderful selection here, Mr. Schiesler. Do you do a lot of traveling?”
“Yes, I do. I have a shop in another town, but I like to visit festivals like this to pick up new titles.” He was slowly relaxing as we spoke, which made me feel much more at ease, too. “Will you be getting anything for yourself, Miss Ivetta?”
“This,” Prince Chevalier interjected coolly, adding another book to the counter. I looked back up at him, surprised. His face was as impassive as usual.
“Thank you, your highness.”
Mr. Schiesler finished neatly tying the stack with twine, and Prince Leon handed me the mug of cider as I stepped back while Prince Chevalier and the shopkeeper talked about the price.
“Gotta say I’m pretty surprised to see you here,” Prince Leon commented, his amber eyes warm as he grinned down at me. “How did you change his mind?”
“I didn’t change anybody’s mind, Leon. Are any of the other princes here?”
“Probably. Jin’ll be in a tavern, and Luke is around somewhere.”
“Black,” Prince Chevalier interrupted, dropping the stack of books in his arms. “Make yourself useful.”
I followed Prince Chevalier back into the crowd, Prince Leon close behind me.
“There’s a food stand over there. Let’s get something to eat,” Prince Leon suggested.
Something hit my knees, distracting me from Prince Chevalier’s biting words to Prince Leon. I looked down to see a little boy sitting at my feet, crying. He looked to be about five or six years old. I squatted down to his level.
“Hey there, it’s okay. Did you scrape your knee?”
He nodded, tears streaming down his face. I smoothed his messy, straw-colored hair and brushed it back out of his face.
“Well, I think we can take care of that. My name is Ivetta. What’s your name?”
“R-r-roger,” he blubbered.
“Roger, I think we should get out of the street so I can take a better look at that knee.”
I looked up at the two princes, who were staring down at me with wide eyes. “Could somebody take this?” I asked, holding up my mug. Prince Chevalier took it without a word.
“Ready to go?” I asked Roger, and he nodded. I scooped him up and carried him through the crowd to an unoccupied bench. “Do you know where your parents are, Roger?” I asked, sitting down and holding him on my lap.
He shook his head, more tears threatening to spill from his gray eyes as I wiped his face clean with my apron.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure they’re looking for you. In fact, I bet they’re really scared right now, so it’s very important for you to be brave. Do you think you can do that for me?” I wiped his knee off the best I could with my apron as I talked. The scrape was very superficial. He was probably more scared than in pain.
“Uh huh,” he said, his eyes wide as he looked up at me.
“Have you ever had apple cider before?”
He shook his head.
“It’s really yummy. I bet you’d like it.” I looked up at the princes, and Prince Chevalier handed me the mug without a word. “Here, try it.”
His little hands gripped the mug, and I steadied it for him as he drank. His face lit up with a smile when he was done.
“See? I thought you’d like it. Now, do you think you can remember where you last saw your parents?”
His smile faltered a little, and he shook his head. I looked back up, scanning the crowd. Food, drink, books, knick-knacks, jewelry, furniture, clothing - if someone would buy it, there was a stall for it. And the ever present roses, so characteristic of Rhodolite, festooned everything. A band had set up by the fountain, and people were dancing - some in couples, some by themselves, no fancy steps, just moving their bodies and having fun. The occasional horseback rider trotted through, but there was no room for any carriages here. It would be hard to find somebody I already knew in that hustle and bustle, let alone a pair of complete strangers, but I didn’t want to scare Roger any further.
“Maybe they’re lost, and we need to find them,” I said cheerfully. “Do you want to go look?”
He nodded, and I set the apple cider on the bench beside me so I could use both hands to balance him on my hip as I stood.
“I can take him, Ivetta,” Prince Leon offered, setting the books down on the bench.
Roger looked up at him dubiously.
“This is Leon. He’s a lot taller than me, so he’ll have an easier time finding your parents,” I reassured Roger.
“You can ride on my shoulder,” Prince Leon added, giving Roger a friendly smile.
“That sounds like fun! What do you say?”
Roger nodded enthusiastically, and I passed him off to Leon.
“Now, you’ve got to make sure Leon doesn’t get into any trouble. Okay?”
“Okay!” All the tears were gone as he perched happily on Prince Leon’s shoulder, steadied by his strong arm.
“Then let’s go,” Prince Leon said, walking off into the crowd with him.
I let out a sigh as I watched them go, and then I turned back to Prince Chevalier.
“Sorry about that, your highness,” I said, picking up the books and mug.
His expression was as cold and inscrutable as ever. I hadn’t even stopped to think about him when Roger appeared. Was he mad at me?
“You forget why you’re here,” he said quietly.
If it were anybody else, his callous response would have shocked me. But I expected nothing less from him. And he wasn’t wrong in this case.
“I did forget, your highness,” I admitted, dropping my gaze meekly.
He was silent for a moment, and then he turned back into the crowd. “Come,” he commanded.
I followed him quietly to our next stop, a food stand. It was hard to keep my focus on him, even knowing I was already in trouble. There was so much going on around me, so many people, so many smiling faces - and then I found a pair of brown eyes I did not want to see. They narrowed, and my heart immediately started racing as I sucked in a breath and stepped closer to Prince Chevalier, brushing his cloak. He glanced down at me.
“What is it?” he demanded.
“Sorry, it’s nothing,” I said quickly, trying to hide the fear I automatically felt whenever I saw that man. He wouldn’t try anything here, anyway. Too public. I looked back to where I’d seen him, but he wasn’t there anymore. That made me even more nervous.
“What do you recommend?” Prince Chevalier asked, drawing my attention back to him.
“Oh, um, let me see…”
I swallowed my nerves and studied the menu, a delicious array of pastries and desserts found almost exclusively at festivals like this.
“How sweet do you like your desserts, Prince Chevalier?”
“The funnel cakes are really good,” Prince Leon volunteered, rejoining us.
“Oh, Leon!” I exclaimed, relieved by the addition of his presence. With Prince Chevalier on one side and Prince Leon on the other, I was definitely safe. “Did you find Roger’s parents?”
He grinned down at me and tousled my hair. “Yeah, I did. And he couldn’t stop talking about the pretty lady who helped him.”
I blushed. “I just didn’t want him to be scared. It can be very frightening to be lost at his age.”
“We’re wasting time,” Prince Chevalier interjected sharply.
“Oh, sorry, your highness. We’ll take one funnel cake, please.”
I’d never had a funnel cake before, and I watched with fascination as the baker piped the batter in a swirly mess into the hot oil. The finished product was beautifully crisp and brown, and then he dumped so much powdered sugar on top that I could hardly see the bread anymore.
“Leon, you didn’t tell me how big this would be!” I exclaimed as the baker set the plate on the counter in front of me. “And it’s going to make a huge mess!”
“Festival food is supposed to be messy,” he laughed.
Prince Chevalier paid and started walking without a word.
“Could you get that?” I asked Prince Leon, gesturing toward the enormous, piping hot pastry.
“I’ve got a better idea,” he said, taking the books from me. “These are heavier, anyway.”
“I’m not so sure,” I giggled, picking up the funnel cake. “But we’re falling behind.”
Prince Chevalier came to a sudden halt ahead of us as Prince Clavis, astride a chestnut horse, appeared directly in his path.
“Well, what do we have here?” Prince Clavis asked, his golden eyes twinkling mischievously as I caught up with Prince Chevalier.
“Move,” Prince Chevalier said testily, glancing back at me as I came to his side.
“I’ve never seen you on foot at one of these things, Chev. Don’t tell me you’re actually getting into the festival spirit?”
“Lay off, Clavis,” Prince Leon said. “He’s doing something decent for a change. We don’t want to discourage him.” He laughed heartily.
“That’s a lovely smile you’re wearing, Ivetta,” Prince Clavis continued. “I take it you somehow coaxed Chev into coming out here today?”
“I’m only here in an official capacity, Prince Clavis, and I certainly didn’t coax anybody into this,” I replied, blushing.
“Then why are you getting treated while Leon carries the books?” Prince Clavis teased.
“Get us a carriage,” Prince Chevalier said, his sharp voice cutting cleanly through the air.
“Not leaving so soon, are you, Chev? Was it something I said?” Prince Clavis asked, feigning surprise and hurt.
Prince Chevalier had only to turn the full force of his glare on Prince Clavis for an immediate reaction, but he also punctuated it with another statement. “Unless you’d rather I commandeer your horse.”
“Alright, alright, I’m going.”
Prince Chevalier started walking again, and I followed in silence until he brought us to a stop in front of a bench. He turned and looked pointedly at me. “If you’re going to eat that, do so now.”
“Me?” I asked, surprised once again.
He smirked. “You don’t expect me to make a fool of myself with that thing.”
Prince Leon’s arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Don’t question him, Ivetta. Just enjoy it.” He sat down, pulling me with him. “You’re gonna share, right?”
I looked doubtfully down at the monstrosity in my lap. “I don’t see how I can eat all of it by myself.”
He set the books down and grabbed a piece, powdered sugar dusting the front of his black shirt. “Don’t mind if I do.”
Prince Chevalier let out an irritated sigh but sat down on my other side and took a piece as well. “Not as good as the Showoff’s, but adequate for festival fare,” he commented.
“Okay, let me have some, though.” I took a bite, and the crisp, hot bread melted on my tongue. “Mm, this is so good.”
By the time Prince Clavis returned with the carriage, powdered sugar covered my uniform, and my fingers were sticky with melted sugar.
“Oh, I knew this would make a huge mess,” I moaned, giggling as I licked my fingers. “Maybe I should wash off in the fountain.”
“Ooh, are we dunking Ivetta in the fountain?” Prince Clavis teased. “I claim first dibs!”
Prince Chevalier shot him a glare as he stood up.
“Alright, Chev gets first dibs,” Prince Clavis said, shrugging. “But I’m second.”
I tried to straighten myself out as much as possible as Prince Chevalier boarded the carriage, hoping I wasn’t blushing as much as I thought.
“It’s no use,” I complained. “I’ll just have to clean up and change when we get back.”
“I’ve changed my mind,” Prince Clavis announced. “Chev can dip you in the fountain, and I’ll help you change.”
“Prince Clavis!” I exclaimed. My cheeks were blazing hot.
“Knock it off, Clavis,” Prince Leon intervened. “Here. You’d better get going before Jin shows up,” he said, winking and offering me a hand up into the carriage. I took it, but then his other hand tousled my hair roughly.
“Hey!”
“You said you’d have to get cleaned up, anyway,” he teased.
I took my seat across from Prince Chevalier, and Prince Leon handed the books to me.
“Now you kids behave yourselves,” he smirked, shutting the door before either of us could respond.